Fox Mate (Madison Wolves) (2 page)

"No wonder you're so small," Violet said, but there was kindness in her voice.
She looked at Scarlett. "You. Girl. What's your name?"

"Scarlett, ma'am."
Scarlett chewed her lip, her eyes darting around as if searching for a route of escape.

"Come here, Scarlett," Violet ordered. When Scarlett walked over
, Violet said. "Do not loom over me, child!" Scarlett knelt down in front of Violet's chair. Violet leaned forward and cupped her mouth over Scarlett's ear. "In the future, bring the fox something extra to share with the alpha." It was said so quietly only Scarlett and I could hear.

I almost gave my hearing away;
I was so surprised.

Scarlett leaned away. "Yes ma'am," she said. "Thank you
, ma'am."

I decided then that Violet may be intimidating, but she also could be kind. And I hadn't thought about sharing with Lara.

I stole a chicken wing from Lara's plate. Lara grumbled playfully. "Oh like you'll notice one little chicken wing."

I wondered whether it had been left on Lara's plate for me. I cut my venison in half and pointedly slipped some of it to the edge of the plate closest to Lara. Then I cut that half into pieces that were easily stolen before eating the other half. Lara's fork stole over and speared some of the venison, and I grinned up at her.

Mr. Berg and Dominick walked up, Jason carrying two chairs and Alan carrying two plates. Jason set the chairs down, and the two council members sat down, accepting their plates. Greetings were exchanged along with some small talk. I sat quietly and listened.

"Michaela," Mr. Berg said eventually. "You seem to
have become more comfortable with us."

He looked around
pointed. The last major pack night I had attended had been the night I'd been inducted into the pack. I had been quite nervous surrounded by so many werewolves. Yet tonight I was relaxed even though attendance was even greater than it had been for the event the night of my induction.

"I guess you're right," I admitted. "It helps when I see how fiercely everyone in the pack protects me. And no one plays dominance games with me."

"Except me," said Elisabeth. "And the alpha, of course."

There were chuckles.

"Yeah," I said, agreeing. "I even let you two win sometimes."

That resulted in outright laughter, then Lara said, "You all realize she's serious."

"Omega fox suits you," Dominick said. Werewolf packs had a hierarchy, a power relationship between the wolves, with my fiancé, Lara, at the top of the pack. But from time to time, a pack member could be outside of the power structure, immune to the dominance challenges the other members of the pack performed. When that happened, she was referred to as "omega". And that was my position.

"It may not be that absolutely
everyone in the pack is fond of you" Dominick went on to say.  "But your approval rating is significantly higher than I would ever have guessed."

"Approval rating?"

"Ignore him," Lara said.

"I couldn't possibly be so rude as to ignore a council member, Alpha," I said. "I am sure it is my responsibility to hang
on every word he says. Please, Dominick, what approval rating?"

"Nothing," Lara said. "Right, Dominick?" Lara squeezed my hand tightly and offered me a stern look.

"I only meant that you seem to be very popular with at least eighty percent of the pack," Dominick said. "Maybe even more than eighty percent."

"I'm sure that's due to my fine, fox coat," I said vainly. "Who could resist?"

That earned me chuckles and a relieved look from Lara.

"Of course, I think
Violet is wondering about a fox fur stole." Violet was a member of the pack council. I found her to be stern, almost severe, and felt she approved of me.

"How can you say such a thing?" Violet said.
Then she took in my expression. "Oh. Humor. Ha ha."

"I'm sorry, Violet," I said.

Vivian leaned over to Violet and said quietly, "She's trying to cover up after finding out about the surveys. She uses humor when she's nervous." Vivian was another member of the council, but more important to me, she was my therapist; she knew things about me no one else knew.

I tried not to glare at
Vivian. She knew I could hear her. But she was right.

"Quite all right," Violet said after a moment. "But to be clear, I think fox fur looks best when it is still worn by a breathing fox."

I nodded my thanks to her. That was kindly said.

"And how does my rating compare to the alpha
's?" I asked with a glint in my eye.

Dominick glanced at Lara before answering. "The alpha seems exceedingly popular of late as well."

"Of late?"

"Well, her popularity has been up and down in the past, but it has solidified significantly over the last year."

"Was there a dip last year?" I asked. "Perhaps in the autumn." Last autumn was when it had appeared the pack was under attack from external forces; instead, it had been David, making a play to take the role of alpha away from Lara. I had thwarted him.

"Yes," said Dominick. "But then a significant spike upwa
rds. Then steady growth until an astronomical spike several weeks ago. That spike corresponds to a similar spike in your rating."

"I suppose eliminating an outside threat could do that," I offered.

"Perhaps," said Dominick. "But perhaps knowing the alpha's companion is so amazingly able to fend for herself had something to do with it as well." I had killed single-handled, and quite dramatically, two very powerful wolves with my silver knives.

Lara wasn't happy with the turn of conversation. "Dominick," Lara said, almost a growl.

"I hope her ratings won't suffer too badly in the future when I choose to hide behind the alpha and her enforcers rather than demonstrate my independence," I said. I was looking at Lara when I said it, and some of the tightness left the corners of her mouth.

"The council doesn't make decisions based on approval ratings," Mr. Berg said. "I do hope the little fox won't, either."

"The only approval rating that matters to me is the alpha's," I said.

That took care of the rest of
Lara's tension. I watched as she visibly relaxed.

"If you don't make decisions based on approval ratings," I said. "Why track them?"

"Prudence," said Mr. Berg. "It also gives us an indicator of when we may need to manage expectations better."

"If there is a segment of the pack that is feeling particularly aggrieved,"
Vivian said, "we may find ways to mollify them."

"During periods of low approval," Elisabeth added, "I used extra enforcers on the compound."

"If your approval rating were low," Mr. Berg went on. "The council would be more likely to provide additional guidance, shall we say, over the alpha's choices."

I smiled. "Thank you for explaining."

The teenagers ate their own dinner, then several wandered back to our group to ask whether anyone needed anything. Most of the wolves took seconds. When Scarlett presented Lara with a fresh plate, there was a small chicken thigh waiting on it. Lara hadn't asked for it. I reached over and cut off half of it, leaving the rest for Lara.

Lara glanced at me.

"It tastes better from your plate," I said with a smirk.

"Alpha," said Mr. Berg. "Are you going to tell us why we're all here?"

"Of course," she said. "In about an hour."

Vivian
chuckled softly.

"Michaela," he said. "Why are we all here tonight?" Lara stiffened next to me.

"Because the alpha summoned us," I said. Lara immediately relaxed.

Elisabeth bit off a laugh.

"And," he said. "Why did the alpha summon us?"

"I presume she has an announcement of some sort," I said. "Although perhaps she thought it was a pleasant day and wanted to share it with everyone."

"Michaela," Mr. Berg said. "What do you know about tonight's announcement?"

"The alpha has not specifically told me anything she hasn't told the rest of you," I said. "I could share the rumors I've heard."

He started to open his mouth again. "Mr. Berg," I said. "Lara did not tell me why we're meeting. The first I heard there was to be this picnic was when two of my students asked me about it on Thursday. I have my own suspicions, but I would not share them without Lara's permission."

At that, Mr. Berg smiled triumphantly.

"Damn it!" I said. "I just got played." I had just admitted I was submissive to Lara, something I rarely admitted outside the bedroom.

"Yes, honey, you did," said Lara. "But I love you for it."

"She's going to-"

Lara clamped her hand over my mouth. "I will paddle you,
Little Fox," she said. "Think carefully before you speak further."

She took her hand away and I looked up at her. "Would you really?"

"Yes."

"In public?"

"Yes."

"Even knowing you wouldn't get any for a month?"

"Yes."

If I
had thought she was bluffing, I would have called her on it. I thought further then smiled. "That's fine," I said. "You're wrapped around my finger as badly as I'm wrapped around yours."

"Isn't
that the truth," Elisabeth agreed under her breath.

Ava wandered by, collecting plates and replenishing drinks. I kicked my sandals off and curled my feet underneath me, cuddling into Lara. She put her arm around me. I felt warm and safe and very much at peace. I closed my eyes and breathed deeply.

"I love you, Lara," I said in front of everyone. I'd never done that before.

"I love you too,
Little Fox," she said. She kissed the top of my head.

After that, I listened to the conversation. It remained fairly innocuous. Elisabeth
talked to a few stragglers making wagers about the reason for the get together. With great amusement, I listened in on each of the predictions.

Francesca stopped by, "How soon would you like us to light the bonfire?" she asked Lara.

"Whenever you're ready," Lara said. But I was listening to her heartbeat, and it sped up. I realized she was nervous. I opened my eyes and looked up to her.

"Are you all right?" I asked her quietly.

"Yes," she said. She lowered her lips towards my ear then spoke so quietly even a wolf wouldn't have heard her. "You know the alpha can't divorce. And you know the alpha's mate can't publicly rebel. Are you sure, honey?"

I leaned up and kissed her jaw, cuddling closer to her. She lifted my chin, turning my ear towards her, continuing to speak quietly. "After tonight,
at least in public, you must always stand as one with me. If you can't do that, Michaela..."

I shifted so I could nibble on her earlobe. "I can't give you pups," I said. "We will fight in private. And you will never be he
avy-handed in public."

"I can't promise that last one," she told me, kissing my ear as cover for our conversation.

I pressed my head into her, wrapping my arms around her, thinking about my response. Finally I pulled away, sitting up properly, but clasping her hand. "I love you, Lara," I said.

"You already said that," Violet said.

"Yes, I did. I'm sure I'll say it again, too."

Lara squeezed my hand.

"Oh look," I said. "Fire." Faces turned to see Francesca lighting the bonfire. Instead of one big bonfire, we actually had several medium fires, and Francesca lit them one after another. Having several medium fires allowed everyone to sit their preferred distance from the fires. It was a warm night, so I didn't imagine there would be competition for the closest seats.

As a group, we got up and carried our chairs towards the fire. Lara and I sat down towards the end of the fires, facing our chair
s along the length of the row of fires. Everyone would be able to take a seat and still see us. We could watch the fires as well as all the assembled wolves. Elisabeth set her chair next to ours. Everyone else gave us a little bit of room. Some people sat in lawn chairs; others sat on the grass. A few had blankets spread out. They all looked happy and comfortable.

"Elisabeth," Lara said quietly. "Will you officiate tonight? Do a few stories or games before asking me to speak."

"Nervous, sister?" she asked quietly.

"Yes."

"And you, Little Fox?" Elisabeth asked.

"No."

Elisabeth waited a little longer for people to settle before she stood up and strode in front of the fire.

"Hello everyone," she said in a firm voice. "I bet you are all wondering why you're here tonight."

"What's the pool up to, Elisabeth?" I heard a voice from the middle of the pack ask.

Elisabeth laughed. "About half of you placed wagers," she said. "I haven't counted the total, but I've twice had to empty my bulging pockets. And yes, there is a winner.
I hate to disappoint you, but the rumors I am challenging my sister for leadership of the pack are misplaced."